Need input, going to buy a Suhr modern or std, or Ibby AZ

Tahoebrian5

Fractal Fanatic
I have 5 guitars and just realized I don’t really love any of them so after much debate and countless hours on google I’ve narrowed it down to a Suhr or Ibanez AZ. Of course there is nowhere nearby to try any of these so I’m considering ordering 2 and returning my least fav.

Does anyone have any direct hands on with these guitars and can comment on them. I’m leaning forwards the Suhr Standard Plus. I like the HSS pup config. My main concern is maybe it won’t work well for metal? I realize the modern would probably be the best for metal but I’d like to be able to get stratty tones out of the neck SC too.

The AZ looks very similar to the standard..

Also, recommend an online Suhr vendor if you can.

thx!
 
Az's are cool but I'd go Suhr all day long. Didn't vibe with the stock pups in the Ibby's, my Suhr is amazing. On the less expensive side check our the Charvel DK24 Pro Mods. I love mine, and it's inexpensive enough that if you didn't love the pups you could drop 3-400 on replacements and still have less than 1500 in it.
 
My Suhr Modern Pro has HSH pickups, and yet I get beautiful stratty tones from the neck (with coil splitting). Better stratty tones, in fact, than my Tom Anderson wirh HSS...
 
I really wanted to get one of the AZ series - I played both the AZ-242F and AZ-2204F and really liked both except for the neck, which is IMO way too thick (most of my guitars are Wizard necks ;)). I just couldn't get comfortable with it.

I can second the vote for the Charvel Pro Mod DK24. I recently got the HSS in Shell Pink and it's been really good. The neck is really nice - great feel to it, both the feel and the size.

To me, having not owned a Suhr, I think the Charvel is a gateway guitar to a Suhr. :D
 
FWIW my second most played guitar (after a Suhr modern) is my Ibanez JS, not my other Suhr. And I didn't gel with the stock pickups in my Modern, so it has DiMarzios now. To each his own I suppose. AZ is basically the spiritual descendant of the older higher end RG Prestige from the early 00s. I had an RG3120 many years ago, it was a fine guitar. My only complaint about it was that the neck was too thin for my taste, but it's a matter of preference - some people prefer thinner necks. Is a comparable Suhr worth $1000 extra? I'm not sure. You can do great things with either one. Heck, you can even love either one, though of course psychologically it's easier to love the guitar that's more expensive.

Also, a protip: Ibanezes are best bought slightly used, at half the price. I currently don't have any that I bought brand new. The aforementioned JS was $800 or something like that. Great guitar. Most people buy guitars and hardly ever touch them, so there was no fret wear.
 
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I have a Suhr Custom Modern in H-S-H. It has coil splitting and gets “stratty”. It is not dead ringer, but is has some quack.

You can do a Custom Suhr order and configure it however you would like. Matt’s Music has a Suhr custom builder that you can use to plan your build.

I do not have an AZ, but I have a Jem. IMO Ibanez makes a great guitar and I would not get rid of my Jem, but the Suhr is just a notch above in fit, finish, feel, and tone.
 
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